Examining Factors Related to Health-Related Quality of Life in People With Parkinson's Disease.

PURPOSE

Parkinson's disease (PD) results in a range of dysfunctions and disabilities as it progresses to later stages. All these not only affect a patient's physical well-being but also emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. To tailor interventions that can address these concerns, this study aimed to examine the impacts of PD on their health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study with 123 PD patients.

METHODS

Measures included the following: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Unified PD Rating Scale-Motor Examination, Hoehn and Yahr Stage, PD Questionnaire-8. Associating factors of HRQOL was examined using stepwise linear regression.

FINDINGS

Psychological distress and functional impairment are significantly associated with the HRQOL of the PD population. Psychological distress is associated most to the variance of HRQOL (42.4%).

CONCLUSION

Considering that PD is chronic, rehabilitation programs should be applied to address not just functional but also psychosocial needs of PD patients.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Early recognition and management of psychological distress in PD patients is indispensable to promote their HRQOL.